State of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen called on U.N. peace-keepers to respect

the dignity of his officials and halt their searches of provincial SOC offices.

The comments came at an informal meeting on Mar. 22 between Prime Minister Hun Sen

and Yasushi Akashi, head of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia

(UNTAC), and followed a complaint by SOC about unannounced visits by UNTAC control

teams in three provinces.

"UNTAC has to respect local tradition and the dignity of the local authorities,"

Khieu Kanharith, the prime minister's spokesman, said. "UNTAC should not be

prejudiced towards SOC's officials...and should treat them as partners and not as

culprits," he added.

"If UNTAC continues to behave like this it will have to bear the consequences,"

Kanharith said without elaborating.